Door construction



Jan. 3, 1933, E. P. scHwARz DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 51. 1927Patented Jan. 3, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'- EMIL I'. SCH/WARZ,0F ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO SEEGER REFRIGERATOB COMPANY, ACORPORATION 0F MINNESOTA DOOR CONSTRUCTION Application led Iarch 31,1927. Serial No. 179,877.

My invention relates to refrigerator doors which include a constructionadapted to provide a door structure which is fully insulated and havingan inner and outer surface which can be readily cleansed.

A feature of the invention resides in pro-l viding a metal enameledouter facing for the door and a metal enameled inner facing.

These facings might be termed porcelain faces for the door, as they havea porcelain coating on the surface of the same. By means of a door ofthis construction I provide a refrigerator closure which can be readilycleansed both on the outside and the inside very easily. This doorconstruction also permits the outer casing of the refrigerator to bemade of a porcelain nature and the doors will thus match up with thefinish with the rest of the casing of the refrigerator to provide auniform appearance to the whole outer surface of the refrigerator.

My door includes a means of separating the inner and outer faces by aninsulating means, thereby preventing either the cold air from the insidebeing carried by the inner face to the outer atmosphere, or the warmouter atmosphere being carried to the inner face of the door. This is animportant feature of the invention as it permits the u se of metallicenameled faces for the inner and outer faces of the door without thedetrimental or objectionable feature of permitting the atmosphere on oneside of the door to affect that on the other side.

It is also a feature of my invention to provide a door having a dead air'space therein which increases the eiiiciency of the door as arefrigerator closure.

These features, together with other obiects and details will be morefully and clearly set forth in the specification and claims.

In the drawing forming part of my specification:

Figure 1 is an illustration of my refrigerator.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of my door, a portion of which is brokenaway.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of o Figure 2, partly inperspective.

Figure 4 is a view of the inside of my door with the inner face andinsulating removed, looking toward the outer face and insulatingthereof.

Figure 5 is a detail of a portion of my door. Figure 6 is an edge viewof the member illustrated in Figure 5.

My refrigerator door A'is adapted for use with a refrigerator B whichmay be of any suitable construction, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The doors A are adapted to close therefrigerating compartments of therefrigerator and are designed and constructed to provide an insulatingwall for closing the opening C of the refrigerator so that when the dooror doors A are closed the wall portion of the case formed by the door ispractically as eilicient an insulator as the remainingor closed walls ofthe case of the same.

Heretofore it has been diicult to provide a door for a refrigerator witha properly insulated construction. This has been more of a problem whereit is designed to use an outer enameled surface for the refrigerator B,as the porcelain coverings and connecting 'parts have been inclined tocarry the atmospheric temperatures from one side of the door to theother. This is very undesirable and I have overcome this in theconstruction of my door by providing inner and outer enameled faces.

My door A is provided with an outer face 10 formed of enameled sheetmaterial and provided with an annular or peripheral inwardly extendingflange 11 which extends about the outer face 10. The inwardly extendingflange 11, as illustrated in Figure 3, is adapted to forma shoulderbeneath which the edge 12 of the connecting members 13 are adapted toengage. The connecting members 13 are of a non-metallic material and ofa material poorly conductive of heat and cold.

These members 13 are formed with a rabbeted edge to provide the shoulder14 and a second shoulder 15 adjacent the shoulder 14 to provide therabbet edge for the-door A. Suitable sealing members 16 are-secured bythe nails 17 to the shoulders '1 s111115, respectively, in a manner toexten or entirely about the door` A..'The sealing members 16 provide thenecessary packing for engaging against the rabbeted surfaces in thedoorways C of the refrigerator B to provide a practicall air-tight jointabout the doors A ofthe re rigerator B.

The members 13 are provided with longitudinally extending slots 18 whichare adapted to receive the inwardly extending flange 19 formed about theinner face 20 of the door A. The face 20 is formed 'of enameled sheetmaterial and is adapted to form the inner face of the door, beingpositioned approximately parallel to the outer face 10 and having thesame characteristic properties in being made of enameled sheet material.

By means of the grooves 18 in each of the members 13 the ange on theinner face 20 is adapted to fit very readily into the members 13. Bmeans of long screws 21 which are adapte to extend through holes 22properly positioned in the flange 19, the face plate 20 is held firmlyand rigidly in place connected to the members 13.

In assembling my door A it is desirable to follow a method of assemblywhich facilitates the putting together of the parts and this isaccomplished virtually as follows: Three of the members 13 are placedwith the edge 12 extending beneath the fiange 11 on three sides of thedoor. Then the fourth side which may be designated as 13 and which isprovided with beveled ends 24 which permit it to be slipped under theflange 11 into mitered engagement with the other three members 13, isplaced into position as illustrated in the lan view in Figure 4, therebyplacing all o the four sides 13 of the insulating and connecting framefor the faces of the door A into position as illustrated in Figure 4 inengagement with the back of the outer face plate 10.

The members 13 on three sides and the member 13 on the fourth side fromthe frame are of wood or pther insulating material which extends aboutand forms the frame in the door A.

Before the members 13 and the member 13 are placed in position in theplate 10 which forms the front and outer face of the door A, a wool feltpaper sheet 25 is placed inf-position over the inner surface of theplate 10. After the frame 13 is in place then the center of the frame isfilled by a cork member 26 which 1s divided into two parts 26 and 26',the memb er 26- being of a larger nature than the portlon 26', and themember 26 being forced into place to impinge against the sides of theframe 13. Spacing bars 28 are then placed across the frame 13 asillustrated in Figure 4 and a cork insulated board or member 29 -is laidacross the spacing bars 28, leaving an air space 30 between the corkblocks-26 and 29.

The plate 20 is then covered on its inner surface with an insulatingpaper 32 and is placed over the cork block 29 with the ange 19 extendinginto thegroove 18 formed 1n the frame 13. Then the screws 21 areinserted through suitable openings formed in the frame member 13 andthrough holes 22 formed in the frame 19 so as to firmly and rigidlysecure the plate 20 to the frame 13. The cork block 26 pinches the frame13 into engagement with the plate 10 by means of the inwardly extendingflange 11 which engages the portion 12 extending about the rame 13.

In this manner I provide an insulated door for a refrigerator withenameled sheet faces of a single piece for each face which are securedtogether and spaced apart by means of an insulating frame so as torovide a closure or door for a refrigerator o a very desirable nature.The efficiency of my door is increased by means of the cork Iillin inthe blocks 26 and 29 and the air space 30 tween the blocks so that thisform of refrigerator door together with the sealing member 16 extendingabout the door A form a closure for a refrigerator with practically thesame efficiency as the closed side wall of the refrigerator proper. Thisis very important in the construction of a refrigerator as it isdesirable to have a door of an efliciency to prevent the loss ofrefrigeration.

It. is also a very important feature of my invention to provide a doorwith enameled faces which are separated by insulating means so thatneither heat nor cold is transmitted from one side to the other of thedoor, the faces bein virtually separated by a poor conductor of eat andcold and thereby accomplishing a feature very much desired forrefrigerator closures.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principlesof operation of my invention and while I have endeavored to illustratein the drawing a particular construction and formation thereof I desiret0 have it understood that the same is only illustrative and that theinvention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses otherthan those above set forth within the scope of the following claimswithout def parting from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator door comprising, inner and outer enameled faces, aframe formed of nonmetallic material supported by one of said faces,insulating means carried by said frame, spacer members secured to saidframe insulating means supported within the other face and fiange meansupon said other face cooperating with groove means in said frame forsecuring said other face to said frame.

2. A refrigerator door comprising inner and outer enameled faces formedof sheet material, a retaining Hange formed on said outer face,insulating sheets and blocks adapted to be carried by said faces. aninsulating frame adapted to be supported beneath said retaining flangeon said outer face, said inner face being slidably inserted into a roovein said frame, and means extending t rough a portion of said inner faceto secure the same in place. v

3. A refrigerator door including, inner and outer enameled faces formedof sheet material, a sectional insulating connecting frame, a flange onsaid outer face ada ted to engage the outer edge of said frame, b ockinsulating material adaptedV to press the sections of said frame intoengagement with said liange, spacer bars, insulating block means withinsaid inner :face adapted to be positioned. against said spacer bars, andmeans for securing said inner face to said insulatingframe.

4. A refrigerator door comp-rising inner and outer faces, a completeinsulating frame assembled within one of said faces, means for holdingsaid completed frame in operative position, and means for removablyconnecting the other of said faces embedded in said completed connectingframe.

` 5. A refrigerator door formed of sheet material including, inner andouter face plates, a frame adapted to connect said face` lates being apoor conductor of heat and col and means extending between oppositesidesof said frame to hold said frame assembled and to space insulatingmaterial in said faces to provide a dead air space between theinsulating material within said door.

6. A refrigerator closure comprising, inner and outer faces formed ofsheet material, an insulating frame for connecting said faces, rabbetededges formed on said frame, sealing members extending about saidrabbeted edges, means for connecting said frame together within one ofsaid faces and for holding insulating blocks positioned within saidfaces spaced apart to provide .a dead air space.

7 A door for refrigerator cabinets com-y prising a frame member formedof heat insulating material, an integral rib extending laterally fromthe front of said frame member, a sheet metal outer facing bent aroundand substantially enclosing said rib, anda a sheet metal inner facingenclosing the re-y maining exposed surfaces f said frame member, theedges of said inner facing being spaced from the edges of said outerfacing land embedded in the rib of said frame mem- 8. A refrigeratordoor including, inner.

and outer faces formed of sheet material, a completely assembledinsulating frame held within one of said faces, an annular groove insaid frame, side edges on the other face adapted to removably lit intosaid groove in said completed frame without taking apart said frame andmeans for holding said other face to said frame..

9. A refrigerator door including, inner and outer faces, a retainingBange on one nf m faces, an assembled insulating frame held by saidretaining flan e to said face, a groove in said frame, si e edges on theother ace, said "side edges slidably extending into said groove, andmeans passing through agertures in said side edges for removably hol fing said other face to said assembled frame. 10. A refrigertor doorcomprising, inner and outer faces, an'insulating frame secured withinone of said faces, an annular groove in said frame, inwardly extendinside walls upon the other face adapted to t in said annular groove,screw means in said frame passing through apertures in said side wallsfor securing said other face to said frame.

11.' A refrigerator door comprising inner and outer faces formed ofsheet material, a

sectional insulating frame for connecting said faces, insulatingmaterial within said frame, strip members holding said insulation inplace, and insulation material interposed between said strip members andone of said faces.

12. A refrigerator door comprising, inner and outer faces of sheetmaterial, a retaining flange on one of said faces, a sectionalinsulating frame connecting said faces, a lip on said frame sections`extendable under said flange, and insulation within said frame in linewith said lip on said frame sections to ispace the assembled framesections apart holding said lip on said frame sections under said flangeand preventing removal of said sections.

EMIL P. SCHWARZ. 1

llos

